New Global Alumni Board and Regional Liaison Committee begin three-year term

Alumni leaders from around the world will help shape and strengthen LSE's global community. A new cohort of alumni leaders have begun their three-year term serving on the LSE Alumni Association's Global Alumni Board and Regional Liaison Committee.

With a diverse alumni community of more than 240,000 alumni worldwide, LSE's alumni leaders play a crucial role in strengthening connections between alumni and the School, championing alumni voices, and helping advance LSE's mission across the globe.

The Global Alumni Board is the School's most senior alumni body. Meanwhile, the Regional Liaison Committee plays a vital role in building and deepening connections between the extensive recognised LSE alumni regional groups and professional and inclusion networks, and the School.

The new term for both groups commenced on 1 September 2026 and brings together experienced volunteer leaders from across North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Middle East. Drawing on expertise spanning business, law, international development, communications, diplomacy, education and technology, members will help ensure that alumni perspectives continue to inform and strengthen the School's work.

Leading LSE's global alumni community

The Global Alumni Board is the principal alumni leadership body of the LSE Alumni Association. Board members represent the interests of the global alumni community, providing strategic insight, acting as ambassadors for the School, and helping to strengthen engagement between alumni and LSE.

The Board is chaired by Fongtien Miao, MSc Media and Communications Regulations and Policy 2005, Vice President at Far East Capital, who brings more than two decades of experience across financial journalism, private banking and family office investment in Asia.

Supporting Fongtien are Vice Chairs Alyssa Banner, MSc International Employment Relations and Human Resource Management 2003, Director of Legal Strategy, Planning and Execution at Astellas Pharma, and Carlos Lejnieks, General Course 1998, MSc Comparative Politics 2004, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters Essex, Hudson & Union Counties, and a longstanding leader in the education and non-profit sectors.

Speaking about her role, Fongtien said:

As Chair, my job is to represent alumni and advise the School on the best ways to engage our global alumni community. LSE changed my life. It has allowed me to make friends and open doors that I never knew existed. So right now the very least I can do is hold that door open for others.

The Board's members include senior alumni volunteers from across the world who will help strengthen relationships between alumni, the School and one another, while providing valuable perspectives on opportunities and challenges facing the community.

Supporting alumni groups and networks worldwide

Alongside the Global Alumni Board, the Regional Liaison Committee helps connect the School with its recognised alumni groups and networks, ensuring two-way communication between alumni communities and LSE.

The Committee is co-chaired by Priscilla Abishegam, LLB 2011 and Francisco González Centeno, MSc Sociology 2013, both of whom also serve on the Global Alumni Board.

Working alongside them are liaison officers representing alumni communities across Africa, Central and South Asia, East Asia and the Pacific, Southeast Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and North America, as well as professional and inclusion networks.

These volunteer leaders play a crucial role in sharing local perspectives, supporting alumni engagement activity in their regions and ensuring alumni voices are heard at a global level.

Regional Liaison Officer for Africa Aishat Ibrahim, MSc Development Studies 2016, reflected on the impact of alumni volunteers:

My biggest wish is for LSE to drive conversation, to drive change, to drive impact in every sector, every industry in the world. We're looking to engage with you, and we can't wait to have you around to share ideas and to help us become bigger and better.

A community powered by volunteers

The Global Alumni Board and Regional Liaison Committee form part of a wider network of more than 130 regional alumni groups and professional and inclusion networks led by alumni volunteers around the world.

Together, these volunteers help create opportunities for alumni to connect, learn, support students, advocate for the School and contribute to the continued success of the global LSE community.

As the new term begins, the Board and Committee will work closely with the School and alumni volunteers worldwide to strengthen engagement, foster lifelong connections and help ensure the alumni voice remains central to LSE's future.

Kerrie Holland, Executive Director of Alumni Engagement and Individual Giving, said:

We are fortunate that so many alumni volunteer their time and expertise to support LSE, its students, faculty and alumni community. At a time when societies everywhere are facing complex and urgent global challenges, the work of our alumni volunteers has never been more important. They are vital ambassadors for LSE, helping to amplify the School's voice globally, create opportunities for connection, and ensure that LSE remains at the forefront of understanding the causes of things for the betterment of society.